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Revolutionising engineering educationin the Middle East region to promoteearthquake-disaster mitigationHoda Baytiyeha & Mohamad K. Najab
a Department of Education, The American University of Beirut,P.O. Box 11-0236, Riad El-Solh, Beirut, Lebanonb Department of Civil Engineering, The Lebanese University, Al-ArzStreet, Kobbe, Tripoli, LebanonPublished online: 12 Mar 2014.
To cite this article: Hoda Baytiyeh & Mohamad K. Naja (2014) Revolutionising engineeringeducation in the Middle East region to promote earthquake-disaster mitigation, European Journal ofEngineering Education, 39:5, 573-583, DOI: 10.1080/03043797.2014.895705
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2014.895705
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European Journal of Engineering Education, 2014Vol. 39, No. 5, 573–583, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2014.895705
Revolutionising engineering education in the Middle East regionto promote earthquake-disaster mitigation
Hoda Baytiyeha∗ and Mohamad K. Najab
aDepartment of Education, The American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Riad El-Solh,Beirut, Lebanon; bDepartment of Civil Engineering, The Lebanese University, Al-Arz Street, Kobbe,
Tripoli, Lebanon
(Received 18 May 2013; accepted 31 January 2014)
Due to the high market demands for professional engineers in the Arab oil-producing countries, theappetite of Middle Eastern students for high-paying jobs and challenging careers in engineering hassharply increased. As a result, engineering programmes are providing opportunities for more studentsto enrol on engineering courses through lenient admission policies that do not compromise academic stan-dards. This strategy has generated an influx of students who must be carefully educated to enhance theirprofessional knowledge and social capital to assist in future earthquake-disaster risk-reduction efforts.However, the majority of Middle Eastern engineering students are unaware of the valuable acquired engi-neering skills and knowledge in building the resilience of their communities to earthquake disasters. Asthe majority of the countries in the Middle East are exposed to seismic hazards and are vulnerable todestructive earthquakes, engineers have become indispensable assets and the first line of defence againstearthquake threats. This article highlights the contributions of some of the engineering innovations inadvancing technologies and techniques for effective disaster mitigation and it calls for the incorpora-tion of earthquake-disaster-mitigation education into academic engineering programmes in the EasternMediterranean region.
Keywords: engineering education; earthquake mitigation; disaster risk reduction; universities; MiddleEast
Introduction
Many Middle Eastern countries have repeatedly suffered from the effects of devastating earth-quakes and are exposed to the hazard of earthquakes. Communities in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt,Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran and others are all at moderate to high seismic riskand are vulnerable to losses and damage from upcoming earthquake events. Although a risingconcern in those vulnerable developing communities regarding such risks and hazards has beenvoiced, handling such a complex and costly threat is still in its primitive stages. For instance,public awareness of the potential threat of a major earthquake occurring in Israel has increasedsignificantly among the Israeli public during the past few years due to the relatively frequentoccurrence of earthquakes in other parts of the world (Soffer et al. 2011). In addition, after theHaiti earthquake in 2010, more public attention has been focused on a major earthquake hitting
∗Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
© 2014 SEFI
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Lebanon, details of which circulate and observed in the Lebanese Media and among geologistsand engineers. It is known that socio-economic conditions together with education and awarenessof earthquake risk play an important role in shaping the way an affected community will respondto an earthquake (Coburn and Spence 2006).
As disaster risk reduction always starts with education, school and college programmes canplay an essential role in conveying risk education to vulnerable communities, and may influencecommunity attitudes towards earthquake hazards and improve preparedness and survival skills(Shiwaku et al. 2007). Despite the fact that mitigation education and risk awareness can reducelosses and fatalities (Soffer et al. 2011), none of the major reputable universities in the regionhas a requirement for disaster risk education in their curricula and none of the engineering pro-grammes in the Middle Eastern countries has integrated earthquake mitigation in their courses ofstudy.
Investigations and research related to the seismicity of the Middle East region (Ambraseysand Melville 1982; Ambraseys, Melville, and Adams 1994) have led to a deep examination andanalysis of ancient earthquake events. In addition, some archaeological explorations (Ambraseys2006; Nur and Ron 1996) have provided key information enabling the progress of scientific under-standing on seismic activities and events in the region; e.g. in terms of an improved understandingof earthquake magnitude–frequency relationships (Ben-Menahem 1991), the risk migration ofearthquake activity along fault zones (Stein, Barka, and Dieterich 1997), the consequences ofsecondary effects such as landslides, liquefaction and tsunamis (Antonopoulos 1980; Wachs andLevitte 1984) and the relationships between surface geology and hazard exposure (Degg, Shuffle-botham, and Doornkamp 2000). However, with all the advances in understanding the substantialthreat involved, Middle Eastern societies remain highly vulnerable to earthquake disasters (Deggand Homan 2005). Due to the high seismic vulnerability of the majority of Middle Easterncountries, earthquake threats present a major challenge to national development, the economyand to the safety of urban communities. The reasons behind the growing seismic vulnerabilityin those countries is the lack of mitigation education and preparedness of the population, thedeficiency in the implementation of mitigation policies and the absence of the enforcement ofseismic design methods and procedures in building construction. In fact, a major earthquakein a highly populated metropolitan area could inflict tens of thousands of fatalities and costtens of billions of dollars. Moreover, the consequences of such an event could have seriousimplications for the country’s economy, future development and the reconstruction, and recoveryprocesses.
Purpose and importance of the study
The literature on the engagement status of Middle Eastern engineering communities in earthquake-disaster risk reduction is scarce, and there are no local or regional studies that emphasise theimportance of the direct and proper engagement of educational engineering programmes and pro-fessional engineering associations in earthquake-disaster mitigation and loss reduction. Therefore,this study aims to provide an insight into the role of engineering colleges in reducing earthquakerisk by engaging communities in earthquake-mitigation activities and to highlight the potentialcontribution of the engineering community to earthquake-disaster mitigation. The purpose of thisproposed engagement is to create proactive, disaster-resilient communities, as opposed to reac-tive, disaster-prone communities. The information provided in this article aims to emphasise thecontributions of the engineering sector in advancing disaster-mitigation strategies and to stress theimportance of incorporating earthquake-disaster mitigation in academic engineering programmesin the region.
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Seismicity along the Eastern Mediterranean
Experts believe that Eastern Mediterranean countries – Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon,Syria and Turkey – are vulnerable to earthquakes and that the region may be long overdue fora major earthquake (Galey 2010; Taylor 2012). Although the magnitude of such an earthquakecannot be predicted, its destructive power should not be underestimated. Seismic activities alongthe Dead Sea Fault have been observed and well documented, and strong earthquakes have ruinedmany cities and towns, transformed thousands of buildings into rubble and left hundreds ofthousands of casualties. In fact, the Eastern Mediterranean region has one of the best records ofhistorical seismicity in the world, with records extending back more than 2000 years for someareas (Degg and Homan 2005).
Seismic activity in Lebanon has triggered many earthquakes during the past 2000 years; theearthquakes of 551 AD, 1202 AD and 1759 AD were especially notable and prominent. The mag-nitudes of these earthquakes have been estimated at 7.5, and these earthquakes caused tremendousdestruction in the coastal cities of Beirut, Tripoli, Jubail, Saida and Tyre and in the ancient cityof Baalbek. Geologists have shown that Lebanon is covered by seismic fault systems; the DeadSea Transform (DST) is extremely important because it has been responsible for the bulk of theseismic activity in the Eastern Mediterranean. The DST, which originates from the interactionsand collisions of the African and Arabian plates, is the deepest and most deadly fault system inthe Eastern Mediterranean region. The DST extends from Ethiopia through Aqaba, Israel, Jordan,Lebanon, and Syria and continues north to join the East Anatolian fault in Turkey. This faultsystem is the proven origin of several catastrophic earthquakes throughout the history of Lebanonand its neighbouring countries (Harajli, Sadek, and Asbahan 2002). The Mount Lebanon thrust isanother major active fault that was recently discovered along the coast between Beirut and Enfeh(Elias et al. 2007). A disastrous 7.5-magnitude earthquake occurred on this fault on 9 July, 551AD and destroyed most of the coastal cities in Lebanon. Scientists have suggested that similarearthquakes along the same fault occur at a frequency of between 1500 and 1750 years.
Seismic design in Lebanon is usually based on a simplified procedure and the design is basedon linear analysis outcomes. Shear wall and core systems are usually the lateral load-resistingelements and the remaining structure is considered as a gravity system.Although such a commonlyused procedure can only be applied under strict conditions regarding building configuration, themisuse of this approach has led to the application of this method without verifying the validity ofthe specified conditions. Therefore, the majority of the recent seismically designed buildings inLebanon have been constructed following an invalidated procedure. In addition, another problemis that both government decrees Nos. 646 (2004) and 14293 (2005) have classified Lebanon asa moderate seismic zone, contradicting both UBC97 and IBC 2000. Government decree No 646also exempts buildings composed of three floors or less from seismic requirements, includingschools and hospitals. Such a strange exemption is not based on consolidated fact or scientificverification, and it contradicts the structural collapse seen in Turkey, Iran, China and Haiti. Add tothis the poor enforcement and the corruption in the Lebanese construction industry that increasethe risk of any future seismic activity.
Syrian seismicity is an extension of that of Lebanon and can be divided into three maintectonic regimes: the first one is the Dead Sea rift system, the second one is the Palmyridesmega-tectonic shear zone and the third tectonic zone is the Euphrates system (Brew et al. 2001).Major historic earthquakes have destroyed most Syrian cities. Seismic design is not required bythe Syrian authorities. Thus, structural mitigation has not been taken into account in urban Syriancommunities.
Israel is also threatened by the DST fault system. The ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephusrecounted in his writings of a massive earthquake in 33 BC, which killed 50,000 people. Threemore large earthquakes devastated the region as well in 363 AD, 749, and 1033 AD – at roughly
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400-year intervals (Peim 2011). The last destructive earthquake in Israel occurred in 1927 witha magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was the Dead Sea, and its effects were feltin Jerusalem, Nablus, Jericho, Ramle and Tiberias, resulting in 500 deaths and injuries to 700.An earthquake in 1837 killed 5000 people. On average, a destructive earthquake takes place inIsrael once every 80 years, causing serious casualties and damage (Rinat 2010). Many cities inIsrael such as Tzefas, Tiveria, Kiryat Shemona, Beit She’an and Eilat are all highly vulnerablebecause they have been built above the Syrian–African fault line, which may lead to thousandsof deaths and injuries (Hamodia 2013). The Israel’s response to the Carmel forest fire in 2010, inwhich Israel had to request international assistance to contain the forest fire, revealed its lack ofpreparedness and ineffective emergency response operations. Such an incident has demonstratedthe lack of preparedness for a future large earthquake (Peim 2011). Although Israel has adoptedseismic design codes similar to those used in California, the accurate implementation and theenforcement level have been low; thus the behaviour of seismically designed buildings may notexhibit the expected seismic resistance (Peim 2011).
The situation in Jordan is very similar to that of Lebanon and it seismicity is an extension to thatof Israel. The last major earthquake that hit Jordan was in Aqaba on November 1995, measuring6.2 on the Richter scale. It caused some damage to buildings and infrastructure, but no fatalities.
The role of universities in preparing future engineers for earthquake-disaster mitigation
Recently, governments in Middle Eastern countries have embarked on implementing policiesintended to reduce the existing seismic risk. However, creating a sustainable process for reduc-ing seismic vulnerability and building resilience to earthquake threats not only depends onlyon implementing policies, but also on advancing the level of risk education, preparedness andresponse behaviour of vulnerable communities and engaging professional organisations in disasterrisk reduction. The engineering education curricula in the Middle Eastern region should empha-sise earthquake-disaster mitigation, and it should be restructured and rejuvenated to motivatethe engagement of engineers in earthquake disaster risk-reduction activities, to give graduatingengineers the opportunity to play a proactive and effective role in reducing seismic risks andminimising losses and to prepare them for effective response action in the event of an earth-quake. Engineering programmes should not just prepare future engineers to become technocratsand social elites who are mainly concerned with a luxurious life style and their social reputationand recognition. Educational engineering programmes in seismically vulnerable Middle Easterncountries must focus more on aspects of earthquake-disaster mitigation and enrich the knowledgeand experience of engineering students in handling crisis situations induced by sudden earthquakeincidents.
The engagement of the engineering sector has direct implications in terms of reducing futuretragic human losses and physical destruction induced by devastating earthquakes. This proposedrole should begin by advocating new legislation aimed at the development of a national mitigationplan with the involvement of the local engineering community of practicing engineers, students,planners and researchers as the backbone of the programme. Higher education institutions havea solid reputation, credibility, and a high status as far as the public, the government, the privatesector and civil society organisations are concerned. Due to their influential role, social status andintellectual position, academic leaders, and university administrators from leading institutions inthose countries should be contacted and encouraged to initiate a dialogue with top governmentrepresentatives to seek their involvement in an earthquake disaster-mitigation plan. A committeerepresenting major universities in each country should be rapidly formed as an initial step towardsrallying government support for this humanitarian and national cause. This committee should
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encourage, and support the role of engineering colleges and associations in earthquake-disaster-mitigation efforts and facilitate collaboration among other sectors with respect to an earthquake-disaster-mitigation plan.
The role of Middle Eastern universities in supporting earthquake-disaster-mitigation effortsis essential from a training and education perspective. Earthquake-disaster mitigation refers topreventive measures that help to reduce the severity of losses and destruction caused by earth-quakes to life, property and the environment. In fact, it is a set of implemented strategies thataims at strengthening the built environment leading to the saving of lives and infrastructure pro-tection (Coburn and Spence 1992). To be effectively supportive, universities across the regionmust implement a general disaster risk-education course in which college students are exposed tothe dangers of catastrophes induced by natural hazards, the methods of preventing and mitigatingsuch disasters and procedures to protect communities from such risks. The course should alsooutline the importance of the engagement of university graduates in community preparedness,and highlight the role and contribution of all stakeholders in the response and recovery phasesof a destructive earthquake event. In addition to the proposed requirement of a general educationcourse, universities should be engaged in activities that raise community awareness of earthquakerisks and threats by launching activities such as lectures, workshops, and short training coursesand school award competitions.
Moreover, universities should increase their investment in research that reinforces theearthquake-disaster-mitigation plan. For example, seismic-hazard maps that include earthquakesources and dynamic soil characteristics could be generated by engineering and geophysicalscience faculties and overlaid on a plot of schools, hospitals, and other essential facilities andinfrastructure locations. Upon the completion of the maps, a professional engineering committeefrom local universities could then identify the seismic vulnerability and risk for such facilitiesand determine a retrofitting strategy to be recommended for government authorities to enableimplementation. Such a screening procedure is crucial in determining the seismic risk that criticalfacilities may face during a major and powerful earthquake. Engineers should assess the maxi-mum level of transmitted forces resulting from the specific ground-shaking characteristics thata given facility may experience and the consequent structural damage that may be induced bysuch forces. Based on this assessment, the structural type and construction can be evaluated, andthe seismic risk can thus be determined. With these risk assessments, the government would beinformed and acquainted with the resulting seismic risk, and could then prioritise facilities withthe highest risk for seismic retrofitting operations.
Engineering programmes across most universities in the region have recently witnessed adrastic increase in student enrolment (Baytiyeh and Naja 2010). Therefore, curricula must berestructured and revolutionised to emphasise earthquake disaster education, to include coursesin earthquake-disaster mitigation and to infuse informal mitigation education through projectsand presentations. Engineering students must be aware of the importance of the engineeringprofession in disaster prevention and mitigation as well as the indispensable role, knowledge andskills of engineers in advancing such mitigation efforts. Engineering programmes should enhancethe disaster-mitigation capacity of future engineers and should give them a sufficient number ofelective courses to expand their skills and expertise in that domain. Students who are enrolledin engineering programmes should be trained not only to build their future careers, but also todevelop the skills that are needed to facilitate response and recovery after a major earthquake.
Therefore, engineering programmes in the Middle East region should facilitate studentengagement in earthquake-disaster mitigation by enhancing student awareness and communityknowledge of future earthquake disasters. Such programmes should devote more resources toscientific and engineering research related to earthquake disasters, early warning systems andlocal seismicity. Engaging the engineering community in earthquake disaster reduction will bean effective strategy towards creating earthquake-resilient societies.
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Contribution of the engineering sector to disaster risk reduction
Engineers can significantly contribute to the development and innovation of smart technologiesand procedures that impact the safety of people and enhance property protection in the eventof a disaster. Engineers are responsible for developing basic processes for the perception andassessment of seismic risk, advanced technologies for reinforcing and monitoring the built envi-ronment, loss-assessment methodologies, emergency preparedness, response procedures and theintegration of research into design codes, construction methods and public policy (O’Rourke et al.2008). Advances in engineering research and design have led to major improvements in commu-nity safety for many different natural and environmental hazards such as earthquakes, fires, floods,high winds, pollution, oil spills and others. The development of probabilistic seismic-hazard anal-ysis is an innovative technique developed by earthquake engineers, and which has been applied tohurricanes and tornadoes. The analytical process and modelling methods that evolved from thisconcept are used worldwide by the insurance industry to distribute the risk associated with all typesof natural hazards.Another example is the application of post-earthquake building-inspection pro-tocols to evaluate the state of damage of buildings. Such a rapid procedure for post-earthquakebuilding inspection was applied shortly after September 11 and helped speed up the restorationof New York City businesses and the world financial markets. Buildings surrounding the WorldTrade Center were mapped to assess their structural integrity using post-earthquake inspectionguidelines (FEMA 2002). Engineers have a chief role in the development of efficient and effec-tive methods for modelling complex, interdependent lifeline-system performances. Structuralmonitoring, protective systems, remote sensing and Web-based GIS are technologies that havebeen improved significantly through earthquake engineering applications. These technologiesprovide enormous benefits through improved surveillance and real-time management of criticalinfrastructure (Celebi et al. 2004). For example, remote-sensing technologies and Web-based GISoriginally developed for earthquake investigation were later applied in reconnaissance missionsand response planning for Hurricane Charlie in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Technologies employed in protective systems for earthquakes can also safeguard structuresagainst wind. Base isolation is one of several innovative engineering systems used to protectmoderate-sized buildings. It works by decoupling or isolating the structure from its foundationthrough the introduction of bearings, with low horizontal stiffness between the structure andfoundation. Such a system is capable of simultaneously reducing both the drift and accelerationinduced by the transmitted seismic or wind energy (Buckle and Mayes 1990). Passive-energydissipation that involves a range of materials and devices for enhancing energy-dissipation mech-anisms is another engineering technology used to limit the effects of destructive seismic energy(Constantinou, Soong, and Dargush 1998; Soong and Dargush 1997; Soong and Spencer 2002).A notable example of passive-energy dissipation is the 55-story Torre Mayor Office Buildingin Mexico City (Post 2003) that was able to survive the 7.6-magnitude Colima earthquake thatdestroyed numerous buildings in Mexico City. In addition, protective semi-active magnetorheo-logical dampers initially developed for the control of earthquakes are currently applied to controlwind-induced vibration (Spencer and Nagarajaiah 2003).
A crucial aspect of engineering research is planning for prospective catastrophic events. Plan-ning involves the dissemination of codes for the design and construction of new structural facilitiesas well as the retrofitting and strengthening of existing ones. Planning also involves the allocationof risk, the estimation of potential seismic losses and the management of lifeline networks, suchas water supplies, electric power systems and transportation facilities. More recently, planningfor potentially catastrophic earthquakes has focused on performance-based engineering, in whichbuilding design is governed by performance objectives for life safety, the extent of the damageand the duration of lost functionality. These planning activities provide good examples for otherhazards.
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Sudden, unexpected disasters such as earthquakes pose a unique challenge to emergencyresponse management. To gain a better perceptive on earthquake disasters in terms of economic,and social aspects, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed a standardisedloss-estimation methodology and computer program (HAZUS; for Hazards United States) thatcan be used in preparation for earthquake disasters. HAZUS provides estimates of damage beforea disaster occurs, which can help emergency planners and responders to effectively plan andrespond to unexpected disasters.
Such above-mentioned innovations can be taught and integrated into the engineering curriculato acquaint future engineers with those technologies and procedures in disaster preparedness,response and recovery. In fact, building the expertise of engineers and enhancing their familiaritywith the advanced techniques in mitigation and design can improve the resilience of vulnerablecommunities to earthquake risks.
Advantages of the engagement of engineers in disaster mitigation
Earthquake-disaster mitigation is a process that should begin long before an earthquake occurs.Mitigation is typically a difficult, long-term task, but it is always worth the effort in periods ofadversity. Earthquake disaster-mitigation plans should focus on actions that reduce the damag-ing effects of devastating earthquakes on people and on the built environment. Such mitigationactions include building code implementation, education, preparedness, training and the devel-opment of an effective response and recovery plan. As earthquake hazards cannot be eliminated,such mitigation efforts should focus on the safety of the population at risk, the protection ofinfrastructure and essential facilities and the development and implementation of a backup planfor restoring life to normal as rapidly as possible after the disaster. Mitigation efforts should becoordinated prior to, during and after an earthquake event. The pre-earthquake-mitigation stageshould be extremely effective and should involve individuals, engineering associations, educa-tional institutions, civil society groups and government agencies to reduce the tragic effects offuture destructive earthquakes on vulnerable communities.
Most earthquake devastation in terms of infrastructure facilities and residential, and commer-cial buildings is typically caused by human error, improper planning, ground failure, design flaws,lack of engineering skills and information, violation of specifications, poor quality control at con-struction sites and a lack of coordination between the various agencies involved in a development.Due to the versatility of the engineering profession, engineers are highly suitable and prepared tofunction in a wide variety of positions to perform challenging tasks and execute responsibilitiesin broad settings that include advocating mitigation policies, urban planning, structural designand damage assessment, transportation and communication rehabilitation, management, waterresources, environmental protection, geotechnical tasks, and other tasks.
The true strength of any nation lies in its human capital, particularly its engineering labourforce. Generally, engineers develop new products and processes and administer new systems forcivil manufacturing, infrastructure, information management, health-care delivery and computercommunications, among others. Engineers offer their knowledge, creativity and experience toserve communities and societies. Engineers are professionals who know how to perform theappropriate tasks at the appropriate time and who are aware of the proper tasks to perform. Forinstance, engineers are able to work in teams and possess good communication skills. Moreover,engineers have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to refurbish health systems in resource-limitedenvironments through improvements in diagnosis and treatment. The abruptness of earthquakedisasters strains and overwhelms local health facilities through the high numbers of those admittedwith injuries and fatalities. In the wake of an earthquake disaster, the maintenance of medical
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facilities and equipment becomes urgent to address the high demands of disaster victims. Thus,local engineering expertise in monitoring and maintaining medical apparatuses must be regularlyupdated to ensure that hospitals can be ready to serve the community during and after a severeearthquake. Expert engineers and technicians in biomedical engineering should be trained toparticipate in disaster response teams to ensure that diagnostic and therapeutic equipments arefunctional and are in good condition.
Engineers are problem solvers and are equipped with technical expertise and scientific knowl-edge. Such personnel are crucial in times of earthquake disasters in which innovative solutionsand ideas are needed immediately to address the emerging challenges induced by facility failuresor system malfunctions. The realistic and practical nature of the engineering profession providesengineers with unique abilities and perspectives in approaching, analysing, and evaluating situa-tions. With the ability to perform and deliver under pressure, engineers have developed a uniqueskill that is highly needed during disaster periods. Engineering advice and recommendations toauthorities during difficult disaster periods will clearly be valuable and will save lives. Thus,professional engineers should be relied on to assist government officials in issues related to policyand decision-making during such periods of national crisis. However, the assistance that engi-neers can provide in rescue operations is critical, as engineers become an essential component ofsearch-and-rescue missions, guiding the government and international rescue teams by evaluatingand assessing the safety aspects of buildings under rescue operations to ensure the safety of theteams involved. In addition, engineering expertise is needed for infrastructure repair in which awide range of engineering specialisations can be involved in reducing the effects of such adver-sity. For example, hydrological engineers are needed for restoring the water supply, transportationengineers are needed for restoring damaged highways and power plant engineers are needed forrepairing the electrical generators of cities.
Engineers can play a key role in earthquake disaster prevention by providing specific solutionsto reinforce and retrofit concrete buildings and to strengthen foundations as a means of prevent-ing mass casualties during earthquakes. However, such precautions have rarely been applied inMiddle Eastern countries, in which the level of commitment to seismic code enforcement remainsrelatively low and the seismic design capability among professional engineers is generally poor.When a country begins penalising owners and contractors for not complying with seismic designregulations, progress will commence. Engineers in all vulnerable Middle Eastern communitiesmust be made aware of technologies, theories, design procedures, software applications and meth-ods that can be used to enhance the performance of buildings and infrastructure facilities duringearthquakes. A variety of seismic code provisions are available and have been published in MiddleEastern countries. However, the key is in the enforcement rather than in the development of aspecific seismic code. Seismically well-designed buildings ensure that no lives will be lost in theevent of a strong earthquake. Considering where we build and how we build can reduce the effectsof devastating earthquakes and dramatically influence the lives of people in these communities.Ministries of public works must hire well-trained, ethically committed and seismically certifiedengineers to strictly inspect the seismic code implementation in newly constructed buildings.
Furthermore, engineers may influence the national economy by implementing new approachesin design that prevents the staggering cost of reconstruction resulting from collapse and failure.The responsibility of engineers during the recovery period is not limited to the domain of design-ing structural facilities, but it also includes confronting the emerging challenges imposed by thedisaster, engaging in community service and finding solutions for addressing interruptions toessential facilities that provide basic needs for the affected community, such as the water supplyand network distribution, telecommunications, electric power transmission, and transportationsystems. Such roles in recovery was illustrated in the Isreali war on Lebanon in 2006; despitea shortage of Lebanese engineers and contractors due to tempting and profitable job opportu-nities offered by the growing Gulf markets (Baytiyeh and Naja 2012), the Lebanese engineers
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still played a national role in the reconstruction campaign after the destructive war of 2006.Immediately following the cessation of hostilities, the government launched a major reconstruc-tion operation by forming a Recovery Unit dedicated to act as a link connecting ministries andother governmental organisations, engineering consultants and international organisations. TheRecovery Unit’s functions were to coordinate the efforts of the various concerned entities forincreased efficiency in the reconstruction activities. The Recovery Unit included experts in theareas of engineering, project management and law, and was able to accomplish a number of tasksincluding the clearance and removal of rubble and debris from Beirut’s southern suburbs, rapidrepair of the key municipal infrastructure, emergency oil-spill clean-up, assessment of damagedbridges and installation of temporary steel bridges, rehabilitation of damaged water networksin the south, installation of prefabricated housing units in damaged villages, reconstruction ofschools and hospitals, restoring the required engineering work to all national airport’s runwaysand other affected spaces and tunnels and the restoration of fuel containers. Such a mission couldhave never been accomplished without dedicated engineering effort, and it has reinforced theindispensable role of the engineering community in supporting rapid recovery of the essentiallifeline and infrastructure facilities in the aftermath of heavy destruction induced by conflict aswell as disaster (Presidency-of-the-council-of-ministers 2006).
Engineers can thus cope with nearly any type of induced disaster problem, challenge or key issuethat requires engineering skills and expertise. Their engagement in the planning and reconstructionstages is extremely important to ensure proper design and strict adherence to construction designcalculations and drawings to avoid similar collapses in future earthquake events. Governmentsshould be aware of this national asset and should thus aim to work closely with the engineeringcommunity. However, failing to realise the value of such a unique sector, and failing to supportthe welfare of the engineering community or take advantage of its capacity in preparing for futureearthquake challenges will lead to severe losses and many years of recovery when such a disasterdoes strike.
The losses and destruction that are induced by earthquakes can be reduced through disaster riskeducation, planning and mitigation in which the collaboration of local governments, academicengineering programmes, engineering associations and civil society groups can play a criticalrole. Recent earthquakes around the world have shown that incorporating seismic designs intonew construction and retrofitting existing essential facilities and infrastructure are highly benefi-cial in terms of reducing losses when earthquakes do occur. Thus, universities across the MiddleEast region should integrate disaster risk education and mitigation in their curricula and offer acompulsory general education course in earthquake-disaster risk education to all majors. In addi-tion, engineering programmes should enhance the knowledge capacity of graduating engineers,to emphasise the values of disaster mitigation and to engage engineering students in disaster risk-reduction activities. Such steps would create safer and more resilient communities in the contextof potential earthquake disasters.
After all, engineers are not merely city builders, urban designers and creative inventors; they arealso disaster preventers and community savers. Any future earthquake-mitigation plan that is notbased on the engagement and involvement of engineering programmes and practicing engineeringcommunities will only be partially effective and will not yield the desirable mitigation outcomes.
Conclusion
The vast majority of Middle Eastern countries have repeatedly suffered from devastating earth-quakes that have recently become a source of deep concern because of their imminent threatto the safety of unprepared communities, to poorly designed infrastructure facilities and to the
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fragile national economy. Relying on government response and military action alone to reducethe adversity resulting from such disasters has proven to be ineffective. This article advocates forthe incorporation of disaster risk education in engineering programmes to promote earthquake-disaster mitigation and to build the capacity of future engineers to assist in the event of earthquakedisasters. Devastating earthquakes are costly at all levels. To minimise earthquake losses, govern-ment officials must collaborate with universities and engineering associations to accelerate theprocess of developing and deploying effective strategies and techniques to mitigate the inducedand projected losses from earthquakes. Experience has shown that lives can be saved, damageto property can be reduced and economic recovery can be achieved by incorporating effectiveprevention and mitigation measures.
Given that earthquakes are a serious threat to major cities in the Middle East region andto its population, it is inappropriate for educational engineering programmes and professionalengineering associations to neglect the potential loss of life and massive destruction that could beencountered after a serious earthquake. Furthermore, given the current economic situation, it willbe impossible for such developing countries to recover from such disasters on their own becauseof the limited available resources to rebuild and repair the damaged facilities and collapsedinfrastructure services in a reasonable amount of time. Before such an earthquake strikes, allstakeholders, including the governments and engineering institutions and associations, must joinin their efforts to launch preventive initiatives to develop and enforce a strict national mitigationplan to ensure the safety of the community and to protect essential infrastructural facilities froma potentially damaging earthquake. Therefore, it is the responsibility of engineering programmesto properly educate future engineers to be knowledgeable, responsive and responsible in supportof such mitigation efforts.
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About the authors
Hoda Baytiyeh has B.E. in Computer Engineering from France, M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Balamandand Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville), USA. Upon graduation in 2009, shejoined AUB Faculty of Art and Science as an assistant professor in the Department of Education. In her current position,she teaches courses in Educational Technology and Web Design. Her primary research areas of interest include OnlineLearning Communities, Social Networking, Engineering Education and Earthquake Disaster Risk Education focusingon community and schools engagement. She has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and conferenceproceedings.
Mohamad Naja received his B.S, in Physics from California State University at San Francisco, and his M.S. and Ph.D. inCivil Engineering from Michigan State University, USA. He joined the Engineering Faculty at the Lebanese University asan Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering in October 1995 where he taught Dynamic of Structures, Earthquake ResistantDesign, Base Isolation, Special topic in Seismic Retrofit. He has supervised hundreds of earthquake-resistant designprojects. Besides his academic responsibilities, his research interests focus on passive seismic control and earthquake-disaster risk mitigation.
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